


Finding a Family

by littlegraycat3



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Post Reveal, featuring Adrien's family issues, they're like a year or two older, this is literally a platter of fluff, waiter what's this angst doing in my fluff?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-11 07:37:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7882435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlegraycat3/pseuds/littlegraycat3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adrien’s thoughts weighed him down like bricks sitting atop his shoulders. He couldn’t break down, not here, at school where everyone could see him. Where everyone was expecting him to be the poster boy, the model student. No one could penetrate the wall he had built up. No one, except for sweet Marinette, and her three little words of care and comfort.</p><p>“Are you okay?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finding a Family

Was it a memory? Or merely a dream; a fabrication of his mind trying to make him feel something. It had been a while since Adrien thought about his mother. Much too long. He racked his brain, trying to remember her voice, the way she walked, anything. But all he saw behind his eyelids was a figure with blonde hair and an unmoving face; the image of her in the painting on the wall. He couldn’t remember. The dream had started slipping away as soon as the alarm clock blared from his bedside table. His eyes opened and his hand went up to wipe the sleep away that lay thick on his face. He felt wetness under his fingertips. Hastily, he rubbed at his eyes, erasing any trace of redness or tears that accumulated overnight before Plagg had the chance to tease him for it.

He pulled the comforter up over his head, attempting to contain the warmth for a little while longer before Nathalie came to get him for school. He closed his eyes again. The figure materialized in his dream world again, in a large meadow, surrounded by flowers. She was walking beside him. He looked at their conjoined hands, his much smaller than hers. He heard a voice and his head snapped up to the source. The voice was familiar, yet different to the harsh and cold tone he was used to. His father, a smile on his face, younger, his hair not yet gray from the stress of running a company. The sight was foreign to Adrien. A warmness spread throughout his body, starting at his toes and flowing up all the way to his fingertips. His father stepped forward and ruffled his son’s hair, then took his free hand on the opposite side of his wife. Adrien couldn’t remember feeling this happy. He couldn’t remember when he was a part of a real family like this, when he was a part of something that mattered.

Adrien’s eyes snapped open again, the soft lighting from the meadow immediately replaced by the darkness from under his blankets. He ripped the comforter off of him, earning a stifled ‘oof’ from Plagg as the kwami was wrenched from his sleep.

“Someone’s eager to go to school.” Plagg grumbled, taking to the air and hovering around Adrien’s head.

Adrien wiped fresh tears from his cheeks with the heel of his hand. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Well, since you’re up early this fine morning, we can stop by the kitchen for some cheese.”

“Yeah, sure.” Adrien reached for the shirt he picked out the night before that was sitting on the top of a neat stack of clothes on his desk chair.

He couldn’t shake the thought of the dream the whole morning. As he ate his breakfast, he watched the empty chairs around him, imagining the young face of his father and wishing they were still as happy as they were before. He wished he wasn’t alone eating his breakfast, but even Nathalie had gotten an early start, as always, and had eaten hours before. He and Plagg stopped by the kitchen and snuck some Gouda from the pantry on their way out to meet the Gorilla. No camembert today, the staff was getting suspicious about Adrien’s apparent love for it and had started hiding it. He imagined his mother flitting around the kitchen among the staff, gathering ingredients for cookies. It was one thing he _could_ remember about his mother: she loved baking. And in turn, he always loved eating what she made. He tried remembering what her smile looked like, what her laugh sounded like. He remembered that she used to laugh with him in this very kitchen, but it was only an idea that was too far to reach.

Adrien shook his head, clearing the image. He needed to focus. The last thing he wanted was to break down again.

The Gorilla was waiting just outside the mansion, standing in front of the car. At the sight of the young man, he moved to open the car’s back seat door for him. As soon as the door was secured closed and Adrien felt the car lurch forward, Plagg flew out from inside his button down and made a home for himself on the top of Adrien’s head. Together, they watched the outside world rush past them as the car made its way to the school. Even Plagg was unusually silent.

Maybe seeing his friends would help. Seeing Mari always cheered him up. The sparkle in her blue eyes, the smoothness of her voice that ceased to stutter once they were close enough friends. Finding out that she was Ladybug only made them closer. He knew his mother would have loved Marinette. They would bond over pastries, he thought. His mother would probably never get enough of the Dupain-Cheng’s patisserie. He can’t remember if they ever went there when he was young. The bakery was definitely popular enough to get at least one visit from everyone in Paris. His lips absentmindedly turned up at the thought. Yes, he decided, Marinette would get along very well with her.

The car came to a stop and Plagg ducked back into Adrien’s shirt before the door could be opened. Adrien slung his bag over his shoulder, crawling out from the back seat of the car and out onto the sidewalk. He spotted Nino, Alya, and Marinette standing in a circle at the bottom of the steps leading to the school’s front entrance. Marinette and Alya’s backs were facing him, but they turned once Nino raised a hand in a wave. Adrien thanked the Gorilla and made his way towards his friends, trying his best to keep his thoughts of his family to a minimum.

Marinette’s face lit up as she tilted her head to look up at him. She hooked a finger under his chin and tugged him down for their customary morning kiss. His eyelids fluttered closed, savoring the moment for as long as possible. He heard Alya chuckle before Marinette’s lips left his. She didn’t quite pull away as she peered in his eyes. Her forehead crinkled and she searched his face critically. Something flashed in her eyes and he knew instantly that she knew something was off. He tried a smile. She returned it, the corners of her lips turning up as she leaned forward again to peck his lips once more. Her thumb dragged across his cheek and he leaned into her soft touch.

“Hi.” She said.

His smile was easier this time, a light flickering in his eyes. “Hello.”

Satisfied, Marinette took her hand away from Adrien’s face and grasped his hand, lacing their fingers together. She tugged him up the stairs and into the school, following Alya and Nino to their first class. Marinette didn’t say anything, but occasionally squeezed Adrien’s hand and swung their arms as they walked.  

Throughout their morning classes, Adrien could practically _feel_ Marinette burning holes in the back of his head. Her extra affection that morning did nothing but confirm his suspicions that she knew something was up. He just had to wait for the inevitable confrontation that would eventually come.

It happened as soon as the class was dismissed for lunch hour.

Alya had been talking about going out to eat for the break. Nino lightly bumped his shoulder with his fist and asked if Adrien wanted to go with them. Naturally, Adrien agreed. Nino didn’t need to ask anyway. The four of them always had lunch together, but Adrien admitted to himself that it was nice to be invited.

Suddenly, Marinette was beside him, a hand lightly resting on his shoulder and a small smile gracing her lips. “You guys go on ahead. Adrien and I will catch up to you in a bit.”

Adrien’s eyes slid down to meet hers, his lips slightly parted in surprise.

“Okay,” Alya said, “we’ll meet you downstairs.” She dragged a startled and confused Nino by the arm out of the classroom, leaving Marinette and Adrien the only ones left in the room.

He could feel the tension in the air between them as her hand slid down his arm and gripped his wrist to pull him out of the room. They were both quiet as they descended the stairs. Marinette turned to face him, gripping both his hands in both of hers and lacing their fingers together. She looked up at him, trying to meet his gaze. Adrien suddenly found his shoes to be the most interesting thing in the world. He knew one look into her pleading eyes would make him lose it. He’d lose the façade he’d built up for everyone to see. He knew that if he met her gaze, his walls would crumble, thoughts escaping from the confines of his mind and flow from his mouth like a waterfall and he wouldn’t be able to stop. And he couldn’t do that; not where everyone could see him, where everyone expected him to be the model student, not the lonely little boy who was lost in this big world.    

But Marinette had always been the one who could see through the mask he wore every day.

“Are you okay?”

Adrien was prepared. He’d been bracing himself for the question all morning. His answer came easy, almost automatically. “Yeah, yeah, I’m f-“

“Adrien.” Her voice was firm, not quite demanding, but enough to soften him the slightest bit.

“Hmm?” He made the mistake of looking up, meeting her eyes for a millisecond before ripping his gaze away and turning his head to the side.

“You can tell me.” Her hands squeezed his, the gesture almost emphasizing her point and reassuring him it was okay.

He looked up again, flashing his practiced Chat Noir™ grin. “It’s nothing.”

Her eyebrows shot upwards. Of course, not even that would convince her. “You and I both know it’s not nothing.”

Adrien’s eyes squeezed shut, the smile fading. He breathed deeply, attempting to calm the anxiety that had been bubbling in the bottom of his stomach. “I-I’ve been having weird dreams.”

“That’s not vague at _all_.” She quipped, dripping in sarcasm.

Another breath. _In and out, in and out._ “I just… miss my old life. I miss my mom. My dad.” Adrien realized that he’d never voiced his thoughts like this before. He didn’t remember telling anyone about how he felt about his family. The thought suddenly scared him, wanting to take back the words and swallow them, holding them in his head forever. One small glance at Marinette, though, with her bright blue ocean eyes and a hint of a concerned smile, gave him a sliver of courage that he needed to keep talking. “I had this dream last night and I can’t even remember what she was like. What she sounds like. What it felt like to have her around. We used to be so happy. My dad used to smile all the time. When she disappeared, it was like he turned cold. She disappeared seven years ago, but I just can’t remember what it was like to be part of a real family.” His eyes snapped closed again, the threat of tears too great as his hands released from Marinette’s grip and came up to cover them.  

Marinette’s voice wafted up to him, her hands guiding him somewhere. “Oh, Adrien. Hey… hey.”

Adrien’s breath rushed in sharply and a sob rattled through his whole body. He had to force his feet to move forward, following wherever Marinette wanted him to go.

“Here, sit down.” Her voice was soft, gentle, as her hand pressed down on his shoulder. He sat down on what felt like one of the school benches, his elbows resting on his thighs, his hands still trying to stop the tears from falling. He wanted to push them back in his eyes, scolding himself for letting them slip so much. One of Marinette’s hands rested on his thigh, her other went around his waist, holding him in a side-hug. Her head gently lay on the top of his shoulder.  

Adrien heard Alya start to say something from another part of the floor and then she stopped. Her footsteps got closer and faster as her and Nino rushed toward them. Adrien felt a hand start to rub slow circles on his back in between his shoulder blades. He heard Nino ask what happened, and then Adrien felt Nino’s hand squeeze his shoulder.

“Can I tell them?”

Adrien nodded.

Marinette’s arm tightened slightly around his waist. “He misses his mom. And he misses having a real family.”

It was quiet for a moment and then Alya’s hand lifted from his back as she stepped around the bench to kneel in front of him. “Hey Adrien?”

He felt Marinette’s hand leave his thigh and come up to brush the hair away from his forehead while Alya tapped him on the knee. His hands dragged down his face and he then folded them in his lap. He sat back on the bench and looked at Alya in front of him.

“I’m going to be your new mom, okay?”

He would have laughed if he had the energy to.

Nino piped up, squeezing his shoulder again. “And I’m gonna be your new dad. And Marinette, well, she’s your girlfriend so she’s part of the family already.”

Marinette laughed softly. He could feel her head turn on his shoulder, the tip of her nose brushing the side of his neck, her warm breath tickling his skin.

“We’ll be your family, Adrien. We all love you very much, okay?” Alya said.

Alya’s statement caught Adrien off guard. Adrien searched her face, skeptical. He found nothing but honesty and care in her golden eyes. He nodded, a new wave of tears swelling in his eyes. He didn’t think he’d ever cried happy tears before. Somehow, he didn’t think anyone could be brought to tears from happiness. Right then, he didn’t even know why he would ever think that his friends _didn’t_ love him. But there they were, thoughts he’d rather keep buried, automatically trying to prove her wrong. He pushed them down, focusing on Alya’s eyes looking into his, focusing on Marinette’s fingers stroking his side, focusing on Nino’s strong hand, holding him up. He found nothing but love in them. That was real love, and nothing could deny that fact.  

“Thank you.” Adrien said. His voice was still hoarse from crying, though he was gaining strength with every passing second.

“Why don’t we go to my place for lunch, instead. I think I can convince _maman_ to make us cookies.”

Alya and Nino smiled before looking at Adrien, waiting for his response.

“That would be nice.”

“Okay then.” Marinette said as she lifted her head off of his shoulder, her arm loosening around his waist.

Alya popped up from her kneeling position on the floor, using Adrien’s legs to push off of. She twirled in place, and then held her head high as she pointed in the direction of the school entrance. “Family outing! Move out!”

Adrien couldn’t hold back his chuckle as Marinette stood up and held her hand out to him. Adrien took her hand and Marinette tugged him to his feet. Her hands reached up to rest on his cheeks, her thumbs wiping the dried tear streaks away. She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his cheek briefly. Adrien’s eyes fluttered closed. Marinette giggled.

“Come on, _petit chaton_. Cookies are waiting.”

 

**********

 

The bell above the door of the Dupain-Cheng Bakery rang softly. At the sound, a small woman poked her head into the doorway behind the cashier counter. She had a light dusting of flour on her cheeks, a dishtowel in her hands.

“ _Bonjour,_ _maman!_ ” Marinette surged forward and pressed a light kiss to her mother’s cheek. Sabine smiled.

“Hi, sweetie. Are you kids here for lunch? It’s all ready for you upstairs.”

Marinette nodded and gestured for her friends to follow her. They bounded up the stairs   and into Marinette’s home above the bakery. Marinette sauntered into the kitchen and grabbed four dishes from one of the cabinets. “Are dumplings okay?” She said, after peeking under the cover of the serving dish.

Adrien nodded. Alya pumped a fist into the air in celebration.

“Okay, guys. Have a seat.”

Adrien automatically chose the seat next to Marinette, after pulling out her chair for her, earning one of her light giggles.

“As the father of this family, I will take the head of the table.” Nino announced as he moved to take the seat in question.

“Oh, come on, don’t be silly.” Alya said, patting the chair next to her.

Nino huffed, but took the seat next to Alya anyway.

“All right, guys. Dig in!” Marinette said, lifting the cover and releasing the heavenly scent of her mother’s dumplings along with a puff of steam. She reached for the serving spoon, but before she could close her fingers around the metal, Alya held up her hand. Marinette’s eyes flitted up to meet hers and her eyebrows shot up in confusion. “Yes?”

Alya stood, knocking back her chair slightly so that the legs scraped against the hardwood. “Well, I’d just like to say that I’m glad we could all be here for this momentous occasion,” Alya began in her patented journalist voice, “and that I’m really happy that you all are my family.” Her voice softened. “I couldn’t have asked for a better one.”  

Adrien smiled. He felt Marinette’s hand take his and squeeze it. He looked at her beside him. Her wide, bright smile softened his defenses. She always knew how to get Adrien to let her in and he had never been more thankful for that quality.

“Hey, Alya, now that we’re married, does that mean you get to make food for me?”

“I don’t know, _husband,_ does that mean you get to get to get slapped by me?” Alya turned toward him fully. Nino had to look up significantly to meet her eyes.

“Hey, that’s abusive.” Nino said, pointing at her and wagging his finger.

“And that was sexist.” Alya slammed her palm on the table beside Nino’s dish, causing it to jump and then clatter back down. Nino was no different as the action startled him.

“Aren’t you guys going a bit too far with this?” Adrien asked, reaching for the serving spoon to scoop some dumplings onto his dish.

“I’ll have you know, Adrien Agreste-Cesaire-Lahiffe-Dupain,” Marinette snorted before Alya could finish her speech. Alya shot her her signature glare and then continued, “that I am diving headfirst into this role.”

Satisfied, Alya sat back down in her chair and took the spoon from Adrien in order to serve herself.

Adrien couldn’t help but feel slightly touched that his friends would go this far just for him. Never in his life had he imagined having friends like Alya, Nino, and Marinette. He smiled to himself. _No_ , he thought. Never in his life had he imagined having a _family_ like Alya, Nino, and Marinette.

Alya passed the spoon to Nino, and continued to tease him relentlessly. Anyone else who could have heard them would have assumed they were enemies. Adrien knew by the smiles on their lips and laughs in their throats that that was not the case. He heard Marinette sigh and turned to look at her as she was slowly shaking her head at them.

Adrien speared one dumpling with his fork. “Hey, Mari, I thought there were going to be cookies.” He said to Marinette before sticking the whole thing in his mouth, causing his cheeks to puff out.

Marinette stuck one of her own dumplings in her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully.  “Down, _chaton_. Cookies are for after lunch.”

Adrien pouted, his cheeks still full of dumpling.

Marinette laughed at his ridiculous expression. “Adrien! _Chew_ your food!” She said, pushing his face to the side with her pointer finger on his nose.

He started to laugh, the action causing him to cough on the food in his mouth. He gulped the dumpling down, still laughing.

“Told you.” Marinette said, swinging around her fork at him to emphasize her point. “You’re so silly, Adrien.”

“You like me anyway.” Adrien said, flashing a smile.

Marinette hummed. Both of them felt their bodies lean closer, almost of their own volition before they discovered that their noses were just barely touching. Adrien closed his eyes and let himself shift forward so that their foreheads connected. He felt the warmth of Marinette’s breath on his lips. He let them part, waiting for her to move. Before Marinette even had the chance to-

“Gross, _some_ of us are _eating_!”

Marinette disconnected from Adrien and stuck her tongue out at Alya.

Nino laughed, his mouth full of food. “If this isn’t a family, then I don’t know what is.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, Marinette’s laugh cutting right through Adrien’s chest and melting his heart.

 

  
**********

 

The four of them ended up going back to Marinette’s house after school and played video games and ate junk food for the rest of the afternoon. Alya and Nino needed to be back in their respective households for dinner with their own biological families, so Adrien was left to have dinner with the Dupain-Chengs’. Tom and Sabine loved having him there and were ecstatic to hear that he was staying.

Marinette didn’t have to wait very long after Adrien left her house that night. She told her parents that she was tired and was off to bed. Her mom gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and was back to watching the movie she’d started after Tom had gone to bed. Marinette padded up the stairs and shut the trap door behind her. Then she proceeded to unlock the little window above her bed. She settled at her desk to get a head start on some homework for about five minutes until she heard the light _thump_ of something landing on the roof above her.

Or maybe _someone._

She turned her head just as the window was being lifted open. She smiled, and Chat Noir smiled back at her as he descended the steps from her loft. Marinette spun around in her desk chair, facing him as he detransformed in front of her.

“Well, that didn’t take very long.” She stood up, allowing him to wrap his arms around her waist and rest his forehead on her shoulder. Her hand came up to stroke the back of his head, earning a soft purr from him. Both vaguely acknowledged a kwami-shaped blur whizzing past them to get to Tikki up in Marinette’s loft.

“As soon as I got home, I told Nathalie that I was going to bed.” As he spoke, the rumbling from his chest leaked through his open mouth, the purr becoming louder.

“Not in the mood for pleasantries with your father’s assistant?”

“Not in the slightest.”

Marinette hummed, leaning into him and hugging him tightly. “Are you staying over?”

She felt him nod from his place on her shoulder. “Do you still have a pair of pajamas here?”

“Yep. And an extra toothbrush.”

Adrien pulled away to look at her. “Have I ever told you how amazing you are?”

Marinette laughed. “Nope. Not once.” She pulled away, peeling her arms from his body. He nuzzled her cheek with the top of his head, which drew another giggle from her. “Go ahead. You can take the bathroom first.”

Adrien was reluctant to leave the warmth of her embrace, but when he did, he found the pair of pajamas on the ceramic sink counter neatly folded. A green toothbrush that he instantly recognized as his rested next to a red one inside a cup beside the sink. He smiled to himself. He couldn’t help but think about the possibility of this being forever. His and Mari’s toothbrushes sitting in the same cup, doing their nightly routines together for the rest of their lives. Adrien imagined brushing his teeth next to her, sneaking glances through the mirror, smiling. Maybe there would be a little ‘them’ in between them, brushing their tiny baby teeth and smiling with their parents. Yeah, that would be nice. They would be a family. _Yes,_ Adrien decided. _We would be forever._

After a few moments, Adrien’s teeth were clean, his shirt and jeans are folded on the counter in the place of the pajamas he put on. He exited the bathroom and switched with Marinette, who had been waiting patiently at her desk. He wasted no time and plopped himself on the chaise, sitting cross legged and bouncing a bit. He pulled at the soft cotton of his ladybug print pajama pants. _Handcrafted_ pajama pants. He would want nothing less to wear to bed. Or any day, for that matter. If he were allowed to not care about outward appearance, he would probably wear them every day for the rest of his life. And he was sure Mari would be very happy to keep making them for him.

The sound of the bathroom door clicking as the knob turned caught Adrien’s attention. He stopped bouncing and his head whipped back to watch her approach him. His eyes glided down her body. Her hair was down and curled slightly at the ends. The shirt she wore looked like the one Adrien had been wearing earlier. He guessed she took it from the pile he left on the bathroom counter.  The shirt was long enough that he couldn’t tell if she was wearing any shorts or if she was just in her underwear. Adrien came to think that Marinette liked to leave everything up to the imagination. The pale expanse of her legs peeked out from the hem of the shirt. Thighs, then slightly scabbed knees, calves, and ending in small, bare feet with the nails painted bright red.

Adrien reached for her hand as soon as she was within reach, pulling her down onto the chaise with him and wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug. She laughed lightly, her head buried in the junction of his neck and shoulder. “I missed you.” Adrien whispered, his hand coming up to play with the strands of her hair.

Marinette laughed again, pulling away only slightly so she could see his face. “I was only gone for two minutes.”

“Still missed you.” Adrien said. He untangled the hand in her hair to rest it on her cheek. His thumb brushed over her soft lips. She smiled. Adrien’s heart leapt up into his throat. He felt her body inch up his own as she closed the distance between them and touched their noses together. He straightened his legs so that their positions matched better and slid down the back of the chaise until he was laying on his back, Marinette on top of him.

In any other situation, Adrien would have probably been embarrassed with the position they were in, apologizing for overstepping boundaries and invading his lady’s personal space. But that night, it was blue eyes staring into green, bare thighs touching soft cotton, soft giggles, and _Marinette_. Her fists closed around his shirt, bunching the fabric between them. She touched their noses together once more before resting her head on his chest. Adrien smiled, his hand coming up again to rake his fingers through her hair.

“Isn’t that my shirt?” Adrien asked, tapping her shoulder that was covered in the familiar black fabric. His smile brightened, already knowing the answer before he felt Marinette nod against his chest. “Why are you wearing my shirt?”

“It smells like you.”

Adrien laughed.

“What?” Marinette pushed herself up on her elbows to look at him. She sounded slightly offended.

“You know, you do have the real thing right under you.”

A devious grin spread across her lips. A grin that made Adrien’s own smile falter. He swallowed thickly. “So, what you’re saying is that I don’t even need this shirt.”

He could feel his brain short-circuit.“Uhhh… I-I didn’t mea- if you don- I-I-I don’t know.” He felt his face grow hotter as he fumbled with his words.

Marinette laughed. Adrien liked to think that Marinette found great amusement in making him dissolve into a pile of jelly. She had that power.

God, he loved her so much.

He loved her so much, he wanted to tell her.

“Mari…”

“Hm?”

He wanted to tell her that he never wanted to leave her side, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

Her eyes staring into his were almost too much. He paused, the words stuck in his throat. _I love you. I. Love. You. I LOVE YOU._  

Was it always so warm in her room? Was he always so nervous to talk to her? It was only the first time he would ever tell her he loved her, no big deal, right? He’d always had a hard time talking about his feelings as Adrien. As Chat Noir, he could let everything go. Flirt hopelessly with the Ladybug, speak his mind, let everything out. As Chat Noir, he had the freedom to truly be himself. Even without the mask, Adrien still wore his own version of a mask, one that he probably would never be able to remove. He simply didn’t _know how_ to be himself as Adrien. He always had to worry about the public and was constantly aware that he was being watched. He had no idea if his personality traits were actually _his_ or if he’d been conditioned to act a certain way by his father and Nathalie. One person he really had to thank for his coming out of his shell was Marinette.

“Adrien?”

Her voice jerked him from his thoughts. He looked at her, his mind trying to supply him with something to say. “Do you… do you want to watch a movie?” _Oh well. There would be other times to tell her._

The way Marinette’s eyes narrowed told him that she was suspicious of his answer, but she seemingly decided to ignore it anyway. She untangled herself from his arms and legs and got up to retrieve her laptop. His eyes watched her as she picked it up off of her desk. “Here” she said, plopping back down next to him. “What do you want to watch?”

Adrien’s arms reached out to her and she settled against him again, pulling the laptop onto the tops of their thighs. His lips pulled up in thought.

“Let me guess. Cats or anime this time?”

Adrien laughed. “You said it, not me.”

 

**********

 

Waking up the next morning was pure bliss, the complete opposite from the morning previous. They were still tangled together, curled up on the chaise, having fallen asleep before the movie ended. Adrien felt Marinette’s arm laying on his stomach, her opposite hand trapped between her cheek and his chest. He didn’t want to move too much, for fear of her waking. Instead, his hand came up to rest on her forearm that was draped across him. His finger traced the many freckles that danced across her skin. He was pleasantly warm and everything smelled sweet and so very _Marinette_ that he couldn’t help but smile.

He wanted to wake up like this every morning.

But he couldn’t.

Not yet, anyway.

Mari’s parents would soon come up the stairs to check on her and get her ready for the day. He would have to leave soon.

The thought made his arms instinctively wrap around her sleeping body. He craned his neck to press a kiss onto the top of her head. He felt her shift in her sleep, mumbling as she curled more around him. The sunlight filtering in through the curtains and the sounds of Paris waking up were the warning that he really needed to leave before anyone noticed him absent from his room.

“Hey, Mari?” he mumbled into her hair.

She shifted again, humming as she pressed her nose into his chest.

“Mari, I have to go.”

Her arm squeezed tighter around him, as if to hold him there forever. “No… I won’t let you.”

“Your parents are going to catch us.”

“So?”

Adrien chuckled.

There were silent for a moment, both savoring each other for as long as possible.

“I’ll see you again.”

“Today?”

He ran through his schedule quickly in his head. “Maybe. I have a few commitments with my father today.”

He felt her pout against him, making him laugh again. “I’ll come by tonight and we can finish this movie that we fell asleep watching.”

“That would be nice.”

“Where’d the laptop go, anyway?” Adrien asked, suddenly realizing that it was not sitting on top of their legs like it had been during the night.  

“Oh.” She slowly sat up, still leaning into him heavily. “I think I woke up sometime and put it on the floor.” Her head dropped onto his shoulder.

There was another quiet moment of them just sitting. Adrien captured her hand with his and played with her fingers. “I think we’re stalling, Mari.”

“No we’re not. Time is an illusion. We can stay here forever.”

Adrien hummed, still staring at their joined hands. “No, we can’t.” He paused, watching her fingers curl around his own. The moved in tandem, and Adrien realized just how perfect his hand felt joined with hers. He sighed. “I really have to go.”

“Okay.”

Neither moved.

“I’m serious.”

“I know.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

“I’m gonna go.”

“Are you?”

Adrien stopped. “I don’t want to.”

“Then stay.”

“Father might just murder me.”

“It would be really funny if we just walked downstairs for breakfast in front of my parents.”

“That would not be funny, Mari. Your parents would probably beat me to a pulp.”

Marinette laughed and turned her head to press a kiss to his cheek.

“Okay, I really have to go now.” He said, moving to sit up.

Marinette’s arms retreated into her own lap, surrendering. She peeled herself away from him as he slid off the chaise and headed to the bathroom to get dressed. Cold air immediately wrapped around him without Mari’s warmth. He missed her already.

 After changing his pants and picking up his button-up shirt, he realized that Mari was still wearing his black one and decided to just wear his sleep-shirt under it until he got home. He slipped his arms through the white sleeves, not bothering to actually button it, and stepped back out into Marinette’s room.

She was no longer sitting on the chaise, but at her desk, talking with Tikki and Plagg, who stopped when he entered the room. “Let’s go, Buddy.” Adrien said as Plagg dashed into his hair. Tikki and Marinette laughed.

“I’ll walk you up.” Marinette said, pushing herself away from the desk on her roll chair and standing.

He followed her up the stairs and through the skylight to her balcony. The sudden brightness made him squint a bit.

Marinette turned towards him and leaned against the metal railing. “Okay, well, I hope you have a wonderful day today.”

Adrien made a face. “As wonderful as a day of modeling can be.”

She smiled softly. “Text me if you need me, okay? I’ll be right there with chocolate croissants and sugar cookies to cheer you up.”

Adrien returned her smile, stepping forward to embrace her again. Marinette hummed and pressed her face into his shoulder. Adrien’s arms tightened around her waist, never wanting to let go. He buried his face in her hair and breathed in her scent. She smelled sweet, like sleep and flowers and sugar.

“Thank you, Mari. For everything.” He whispered into her hair.

“Anytime.”

Adrien pulled back just enough so that their foreheads were touching. Green eyes looked into blue as Adrien leaned forward slightly. She seemed to match him automatically, meeting him in the middle and capturing his lips with her own. Eyelids fluttered shut. The kiss was short and sweet, but still held passion and love greater than either could have known. When they disconnected, Adrien immediately darted back down with kisses to Marinette’s cheeks, jawline, and finally the tip of her nose. She giggled and squeezed his waist. She stood on her tiptoes, pressing one more full kiss on his lips before peeling herself away from him to let him head home.

Adrien called for Plagg to transform and he hopped on the top of Marinette’s railing, settling into a comfortable cat-like crouch. He reached down for her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles, earning another one of her giggles. “My lady.” He breathed. “I’ll be seeing you soon.”

Marinette nodded. “Bye, Adrien.”

He released her hand and turned, leaping off of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. While on his journey home, Adrien realized something that brought tears to his eyes: A family isn’t the people who you are born living with. A real family is the people who love you and the people who shape you into who you are. He will forever be grateful for the family he had grown to meet and love.

But no one else will ever really know the reason why Chat Noir cried happy tears that morning while dashing across the rooftops of Paris towards the Agreste mansion.  

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I'm back after eight months with another fic! I hope you enjoyed this one. I wanted it to be angsty, but i just couldn't do it. I don't have the power. It was supposed to end after all the family shenanigans, but I just needed more Adrienette. This is such a self-indulgent fic omg. 
> 
> Anyways, please leave comments/reviews/kudos! I really appreciate them all and they really make my day. <3
> 
> I have another fic in the works, so look out for that one in the future! It might take a while, since I have a feeling it's going to be multi-chap and I have a weird thing where I have to have the whole thing written before posting or else I get really stressed out sooooo yeah.
> 
> See you guys soon!
> 
> Follow me everywhere!!!! (only if you want to, no pressure):  
> Tumblr: Main Blog-- cheesyplagg.tumblr.com Side Blog-- solidscript-mage.tumblr.com


End file.
